One of the most exciting places to receive a COVID-19 vaccination was under the blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History. Those who went there will never forget the experience. Those were the days!
More than 97,000 COVID-19 vaccinations were administered at the site, according to museum officials.
On March 31st this year, the museum ended its service as a walk-in New York City COVID-19 vaccination site for ages 18+. Last year, beginning Friday, April 23 the museum opened a vaccination site under its blue whale with set-aside appointments for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents and staff and District Council 37 (DC37) members, New York’s largest public employee union, with members who work at New York City cultural institutions.
There was also a free offer: come Back and Visit the Blue Whale! Everyone who received their vaccination at the Museum received a voucher for complimentary general admission to the Museum for up to a group of four.
There are no more vaccinations, but the museum has kept the 6-foot-long bandage on the iconic blue whale.
The Museum’s Legacy in Public Health
For 150 years, the American Museum of Natural History has played a vital role in informing the public about significant public health events. In 1908, an exhibition about tuberculosis—at the time, one of the leading causes of death worldwide—drew as many as 10,000 visitors per day.
For the next 30 years, the Museum’s Department of Public Health produced exhibits and educational materials about the biology of food safety, water purification, and sanitation.
More recent exhibitions include Epidemic! The World of Infectious Disease (1999), which explored communicable diseases; The Genomic Revolution (2001-2002), the first exhibition to describe the emerging science of genomics to the public; Brain: The Inside Story (2010-2011), which showcased the latest research in neuroscience; Countdown to Zero (2015-2017), which presented the science and policies behind efforts to wipe out eradicable diseases in collaboration with The Carter Center; and The Secret World Inside You (2015-2016) and Inside You (2017-2019), which highlighted the rapidly evolving science about the human microbiome and implications for human health.
If you want to visit the museum, facial coverings and timed admissions are still required. Current exhibits include discovering the world of sharks and worlds beyond the earth. Be sure to check out the bandage on the blue whale!
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